Samus' Worst Birthday
by Morbubble
Summary: Samus has always kept her past a secret for a reason; it hurts. But now the others are going to see a little piece of her history. Second chapter's only one with romance, you don't need to read it if you don't like. T for death and a bit of language.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer; Sadly, I don't own Brawl. If I did, Olimar would be dead. DEAD. And Samus would never have a pink suit. Anyway, they all belong to Nintendo, and even the story itself was slightly pinched. I read a fic called Broken, and it inspired me. I just tweaked the idea some...well a lot.**

**Brawl**

**Samus' Past**

Intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran skulked along the corridors of the Smash Mansion, bored out of her mind. She wasn't wearing her famous Power Suit, and her blonde hair swayed gently in the breeze caused by her rapid movement. She stopped at the end of a corridor; crossroads. Straight ahead of her lead outside, to the grounds, the training areas, the lake and the forest. To the left was the kitchen and dining room. To the right were the TV and Games room, and the library. Behind her were the Grand Hall and the stairs leading to the rooms. She sighed deeply. She had already been out training today. She didn't feel like a swim, and neither did she particularly want to read or watch TV. She thought about trying to find her best friend, Link, but she'd already scoured the dorms for him with no luck. Shaking her head at herself, she followed her stomach; the kitchen was calling.

She entered the cavernous, spotless room and the first thing she noticed was that it was deserted save for Luigi and Kirby, who seemed to be raiding the fridge of all its contents. Hungry, she went towards them, planning a sneak approach. So busy were they that they didn't notice Samus was in the room until her gloved hand slammed down and curled around a chocolate bar Luigi was about to stuff under his hat. Luigi screamed and dropped his food, his hands cupping his face in fright. Kirby jumped back, staring at Samus with wide eyes. She smirked at their reactions.

"Oh, grow up. This chocolate's got my name on it. Hey, by the way, where is everyone today? I haven't seen a soul for a while now...I mean, I know it's our day off today, but absolutely no-one's around..." she said, musing as she unwrapped the bar and stuffed a chunk into her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully as Luigi got himself back together.

"Mama mia...don't-a do that-a Samus! You nearly gave-a me a heart attack!" Luigi said, clutching his chest. Samus rolled her eyes.

"Everyone-a is at the TV room-a. Captain Falcon said-a he had a special video to show us-a." Luigi babbled, sorting his hat while Kirby stealthily made off with the popcorn. Samus sighed. Well, whatever that ass-hole had to show probably wouldn't be very interesting. Just some bragging speech of his, she thought. Luigi started toward the door then turned to her. He looked as if he didn't know whether to speak or not; his mouth was opening and closing like a wallet at Christmas.

"Luigi, spit it out. You look stupid." Samus said, irritated.

"Well-a...ok...Captain Falcon said-a...that the video was about-a...you, Samus." He said, as he turned tail and ran towards the TV room. Samus stood, a little stunned for a moment. About her? Why on earth would Falcon have a video of _her? _Suddenly, a horrible thought popped into her head...what if he had some kind of pervy video? Maybe he bugged her room or something...Oh god, she thought, that'd be just like him...Shit! Samus began running full pelt towards the TV room, the chocolate bar a sticky mess forgotten on the counter.

She got to the room within seconds, but she was too late, the video had started. Oh God! She thought. She pushed open the doors into the spacious room, and saw that every single Smasher was there, crammed onto sofas, stools and rugs on the floor, eyes on a TV screen that took up half the wall. Right at the front stood Captain Falcon, a remote in his hand, a huge grin on his face.

In a split-second, Samus realised it wasn't some perverted video of her. It was a home video from years and years ago, when she still lived on K-2L. A sick feeling began in her gut. Most memories of that place were bad ones. Pushing her sudden sadness and dread down, she focused on her anger instead, and shouted, startling the Smashers;

"You ass-hole Falcon! Turn that off! That is Galactic Federation property, you have no right-" she began. He laughed.

"And here she is, the lady of the hour! Miss Samus Aran herself! Won't you join us? Or are you afraid you'll get embarrassed? You make such a cute little baby." He sneered, and for a moment she glared at him. She looked at the screen, about to challenge him again, when she froze. On the screen were her mother and father, talking at an android that held a video camera.

"_...Sammy's fourth birthday today! She's grown so much! We're going to go wake her up now!" Samus' mother says, laughing along with her husband, who looks at her adoringly. They open a door to their right, into Samus' bedroom. It is decorated mostly in blue, and on a tiny bed in the centre of the room lies four year old Samus Aran, curled into a ball, her blonde hair spread behind her head like a halo._

A few Smashers whispered "Aww..." while Samus stared, rooted to the spot. She hadn't known this video existed, but she had a horrible, plummeting feeling she knew what was coming. But she couldn't move, she was transfixed by the image of her parents.

_Samus is gently shaken awake by her father. Blearily rubbing her eyes, she looks up into the eyes of her parents, grinning widely. _

"_Mommy! Daddy!" She raises her arms and her father picks her up, the droid keeping the camera trained on them the whole time, her mother laughing. Samus beams as she hugs her father. _

"_Happy Birthday sweetie!" They both yell, and her father spins her around and out into the living room, his wife following. Samus' shrieks of joy intermingle with her parents' laughter. The droid sits, facing them all with the camera, as her father hands Samus her first present, which she rips open violently, to her parents' amusement. It is a water pistol, a huge one, and Samus immediately begins to try and shoot her parents, who pretend to be scared. Suddenly, a deafening screeching noise rips through the peaceful atmosphere, getting louder until it crashes with a tremendous roar somewhere outside the house. More and more of these sounds follow, some distant, some close. Samus clings to her mother, looking up with wide eyes, uncomprehending. Her parents look into each others' eyes, fear and dread clear. Samus' father stands, and says shakily;_

"_I'll just go check what that was...won't be a minute, Sammy." He promises as his daughter looks at him questioningly. Her mother whispers, "Be careful," too him, but quiet enough so that Samus doesn't hear her. Her father nods almost imperceptibly, then leaves the screen. Samus' mother holds Samus to her tightly. Now other sounds can be heard outside; screams, roars, the sounds of fires being lit and houses being destroyed. Crying, yelling, running..._

Samus now knew exactly what was coming, and she couldn't bear it. "Turn it off," she whispers, then "Turn it off!" she yells. Captain Falcon, however, like many of the Smashers, is hypnotised by the screen, unable to look away. Just as Samus started forwards to get the remote, her father stumbles back into the picture, bloody and bruised, and her mother yells. Samus feels her breath catch in her throat, and somehow she can't move.

"_Oh my god...what's going on, are you alright? What's happening?" her mother screams at her husband, placing her hands round his face. He looks into her eyes, breathing heavily. He kisses her softly on the lips, briefly, then darts round her, looking for the gun he has had for his whole life. He picks it up from the floor where he left it. _

"_Space Pirates." Samus' mother covers her mouth with her hand._

"_Take Samus and run. Get as far away as you can. I'll make sure they stay away from you, both of you. I love you." He says, before darting back outside, readying his gun. His wife shrieks after him, begging him to return. All the while, Samus has been sitting patiently on the floor._

"_Mommy? Where's Daddy going? And what are...space pirates?" she asks innocently, confused by all this sudden commotion. Her mother stares out the door, looking ready to follow her husband. However, Samus' voice halts her, and she turns to her, forcing a smile._

"_It's alright Sammy, Daddy's going to be just fine...we all will be, you'll see..." A sudden explosion rocks the house, and Samus and her mother scream, Samus' mother throws her to the ground, shielding her with her body. Half the wall opposite the droid is blown apart, and the carnage of the streets becomes sickeningly close. Space pirates are destroying everything in sight, mutilating and obliterating everyone who gets in their way. People are screaming and running in every direction, fires burn all around them. Samus' mother runs toward the opening, but spins around at the last minute, desperation etched into her face._

"_Sammy, stay here, ok? No matter what happens, do not move from this spot! Daddy and I will come get you when it's safe, alright? Droid, stay with Samus." An electronic "AFFIRMATIVE" is voiced from behind the camera, where Samus' mother is now looking. Samus calls out as her mother runs out of the room, yelling for her husband. Tears run down Samus' face as the droid moves closer to her. She turns to the droid, and her fear and confusion reach beyond the camera into the hearts of those watching the screen. Taking a deep breath, Samus says;_

"_Droid...why do I have to stay here? I...I want mommy...and daddy. I want them h-here..." Samus whispers, her voice breaking. She wipes her eyes on her sleeve, then looks towards the opening. Suddenly, a determined look seeps into her face, she balls her fists, stops crying and runs towards the hole, the droid following as ordered. _

_The streets are now caked in blood, piled high with corpses of humans and space pirate alike. And yet the terror rages on. Samus looks around wildly, nearly breaking down when a man runs past her, screaming, on fire. Staring at him, she forces herself to move forward, seeking her parents through the destruction, the camera and the droid tracking her every move._

The Smashers watched the screen with terrified eyes, some covered their mouth with their hands, others whispered "Oh my god..." Captain Falcon's grip on the remote had tightened in fear, and he accidentally crushed it to bits. But no-one noticed. Samus stood, shaking her head in fear, tears racing down her face. She couldn't bring herself to move...she tried, but she was paralysed in horror of memories long since buried.

_Suddenly, out of the smoke filled sky soars a huge, fearsome dragon like creature, with blazing eyes and cruel claws, bright orange wings and a skeletal body. It swoops through the air, spitting fire from its mouth and raking its claws through the mass of bodies, living and dead, though those still breathing don't stay that way for long._

The Smashers all gasp at this point, exclaiming; "Ridley! That's Ridley!" They recognised him from the Subspace Emissary, when all that crazy stuff had happened with Tabuu. He'd been horrible then, and he looked as if he'd always been that way.

_Samus yells, throwing her hands above her hand as Ridley dives down low, close to where she stands. The force of his impact on the ground knocks her over, and she dazedly gets to her feet, swaying. Ridley spots her, and moves to slash her with a huge talon as she stands, defenceless. Then, a broken, heart-wrenching shriek penetrates the destructive roaring all around them;_

"_Samus! No!" Suddenly, a darkened figure throws themselves in front of the great dragons' claws. The figure screams as the steel-hard, knife-like talon rips through them and back out, leaving a gaping, bloody hole just below their chest. The figure stumbles towards Samus but falls forwards as Ridley moves off. Samus cries out, heartbroken, and runs towards the bleeding, dying body of her mother._

"_Mommy! Mommy! Get up! Mommy, where's daddy? Mommy!" she falls to her knees beside her gasping mother, who smiles slightly as she looks up at her daughter. She brushes a weak, pathetic touch over Samus' hair, then her hand falls down, her eyes close, and she breaths no more. Samus stares at the dead body of her mother, tears falling freely down her face, shaking her head. Why wasn't mommy getting up?_

"_M-mommy...come on...I...I haven't finished opening my presents...you need...you need to get up mommy, k-kay? Y-you said t-that my friends c-could come over today f-for a p-party...you p-promised...wake up, mommy!" Samus yells, her voice just audible over the horrendous din that is the destruction of K-2L. Most of the screaming has stopped; there is no-one left to cry out, and no-one to hear the distressed yells of the humans. Samus curls up beside her mother, sobbing, as the droid scans the area around them. Blackened corpses and bits of them litter the ground. The houses are nothing but piles of rubble, and what little sunlight had been this morning was now blocked by the smoke; it could have been midnight. In the distance, a huge grey ship can be seen landing, bearing the Chozo symbol. The droid turns back to Samus, who is still futilely trying to wake her mother. She can't move her, and little four-year old Samus breaks down in tears, throwing her arms over her mothers' bo..._

**SMASH.**

Samus' fist came down hard on the tape player, destroying the plastic and cracking the display. The screen crackled and turned to static. The sudden act jolted the Smashers out of their transfixed state, and they looked at Samus with tears glittering in their eyes. They'd had no idea...

Samus' face was streaked with tears as she turned to look at them all, and the fire in her glare made them all flinch backwards. She noted, without feeling, that the princesses, the children, Marth, Kirby, Mario, Luigi, and Jigglypuff were all openly crying, their faces wet with their tears.

"Are you happy now?" she whispered dangerously, her voice betrayed no emotion but anger.

"Are you happy now that you know my past? You always wanted to know why I never spoke about it...now do you see why? Now do you understand why I'm the bitch you all think I am?" she yelled, looking fiercely into each person's eyes. Her eyes connected with Link's cerulean blue ones, brimming with tears, and she nearly broke down then and there. Even Link...her only friend...now even he knew what she'd done. He would never want to speak to her again, she was sure. She swallowed the fresh wave of tears that threatened to choke her, and turned to the person she now hated more than anyone else in the world, save Ridley himself.

"I hope that made you happy, Captain Falcon." She said, practically spitting out his name like the very words were unpleasant to her. Which they were.

Captain Falcon looked into Samus' deep, blazing blue eyes, and quaked under her death glare. He couldn't believe this had all happened, all he'd wanted was a little embarrassing playback to get the bitch back for blowing him off _again_...he really, truly hadn't wanted to drag her past up, no matter how little he'd known about it.

"I...Samus, I didn't mean..." He stammered, but he couldn't find the words and he was silenced under the hatred in her glare.

**CRACK.**

Captain Falcon's head snapped violently to the side, as Samus slapped him, hard. His hands balled into fists at his side, but he didn't retaliate.

"Hey, look, I didn't know that...how was I gonna know all that was on there, huh? Come on, Samus..." he said, turning to face her again. As he said her name, however, she slapped him again, the resounding crack echoing through the room. The other Smashers looked on in fear. They all knew Samus could beat the crap out of them when she _wasn't _angry, but if she turned on them when she was like this, livid _and _upset, well, they didn't stand a chance.

Link cautiously moved forwards to where Samus stood, her hand still raised, Captain Falcon rubbing his cheek. A red handprint had formed, and Falcon burned with humiliation and rage. Link wiped back tears from his eyes, and raised his hand towards his best friend.

"Samus..." he started, and Samus faced him. As soon as she saw him, her anger dissipated and all that was left was a gaping, black emptiness. He reached to her, his hand touched lightly on her arm, but she recoiled. He tried to push down his rising guilt and reached for her again, but this time it was Link's face that snapped to the side, an angry red mark forming on his cheek. The Smashers who hadn't crept out the room already shook with a new fear, shocked that Samus would slap her best friend. Link knew he deserved it, but it didn't make the slap sting any less. Samus stared at the mark her hand had left, repulsed at herself. As new tears formed in her eyes, she turned and sped off towards her room, leaving stunned and guilty Smashers in her wake.

Link, standing in the now emptying TV room, kept seeing Samus' devastated, heartbroken face when she looked at him. She hated him now, he was convinced. He had betrayed her trust, and lost the best friend he'd ever had. She'd suffered all that...it was no wonder she hadn't wanted to talk about it. She'd watched her own mother die...the tears that Link had kept at bay now poured from his eyes, as he cried in guilt and sorrow.

Samus slammed her bedroom door shut, her hand covering her mouth in an attempt to stop the tears. But it didn't work, and she cried for the first time in years. She had blotted out the memory of her fourth birthday for years, made sure that no-one but her knew the truth. She couldn't bring herself to tell anyone, not even Link, the reason for her parents' deaths. She was sure they would all hate her now...they now knew exactly how her parents had died-because of her. If her mother had not thrown herself in front of Samus...if Samus had only _listened _and obeyed her mother, then maybe it would have been her parents that were rescued by the Chozo, and not her. It should have been them. Samus knew it was her fault, and she cried in guilt and sorrow.

**A/N This is a two chapter thing, but the next chapter isn't neccesary. If you wanna read the fight go ahead, similarly, if you like romance then by all means carry on. If you don't, fine fair enough. Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning at breakfast, the dining room was filled with talk of the previous night's event. It was all anyone could think or talk of before the day's matches. It was a team battle day, and everyone had been shocked to see that Captain Falcon and his teammate Snake were duking it out with Link and, coincidentally, Samus. The Smashers were slightly nervous at how this match would end. They weren't concerned for Falcon as such –nobody was talking to him today, except Snake- but they worried about how far Samus would actually go, if indeed she turned up. Some of the newcomers maintained that nobody would ever come to work, as it were, after something like that. Most of the veterans who knew Samus were just as convinced that Samus _would _turn up. She wasn't called tough for nothing.

It turned out they were right, and Samus came down to the dining room just a little later. However, she seemed to have returned to her old habits; once she got a plate of food, she sat alone at an empty table, and she was wearing her Power Suit. In recent months, after the Melee tournaments, Samus had, with Link's encouragement, started sitting with others at breakfast, not always saying an awful lot, but there all the same. And, she'd eventually stopped wearing her Power Suit wherever she went, meaning that people were more inclined to talk and listen to her, now that they weren't being glared at by a green eyed, orange bodied monstrosity. Samus had actually begun to open up, until now it seemed, she had closed into herself again.

No-one had the guts to go up and talk to her, and after many furtive glances and whispered comments directed her way, Samus sighed, picked up her plate and went to the kitchen, to eat alone. She had hoped that they wouldn't all be like that, she'd hoped that someone, at least would talk to her. She'd thought that Link would...but he hadn't even been in the room. Maybe he hates me that much, thought Samus sadly. Maybe he realised the horrible bitch he'd befriended, and wanted to keep his distance. Angrily, Samus shoved her plate away from her, without touching a bite. Sighing, she decided to go down to the lake, to try and relax.

When she got close to the huge, pristine lake, she saw she wasn't the only one escaping the mansion. She saw the white, feathered wings of the angel Pit, whom she barely knew. He had his hand on his companion's shoulder, looking at them comfortingly as they spoke. Beside him, head in his hands, Samus saw, her heart lurching, was Link.

Despite her anger at him for watching the video, for not respecting her wishes from long ago that her past be left in the past, and despite the fact she was sure he must think terribly of her now, she hated to see him upset. However, she didn't want to eavesdrop per say, so she crept behind the trees at the rim of the forest on the lake's shore. She could still see Link and Pit, and would know when they'd left. It meant that she was stuck now though, because she couldn't move without them noticing her. She'd only got there in the first place because Link had been hiding his face and Pit had had his eyes closed. Unfortunately, she could now hear exactly what they were saying, and though she tried not to listen in, she just couldn't help it.

"...she must hate me, I...why did I listen to _Falcon, _how could I do that to her? She was my friend, she trusted me and I ruined it..." Link said shakily, his voice heavy with guilt. Samus froze. Was he...talking about her?

"Hey, now Link, don't worry. If she's really as good a friend as you say she is, she'll understand surely?" Pit said, squeezing his friend's shoulder.

"She won't...she never spoke about her past, she didn't want to, she wanted to keep it hidden, buried...I promised that I would leave it, but I still jumped at the chance to find out what had happened to K-2L." Link said, his face still buried in his arms.

"I know, I know. But it was Captain Falcon who got the video. It's his fault this happened, not yours."

"But I still watched it. I'm no better than him. In fact, what I did was worse, I betrayed Samus...and now she probably h-hates me." Tears splashed down Link's face as he raised it to look across the lake. Samus felt horrible. He thought she hated him...she would never hate him, couldn't hate him.

"No she doesn't. She's your friend. She'll forgive you. I know it. Everyone else is scared of her anyway, you're the only person who has the balls to even look her in the eye." Pit said, trying to get Link to laugh. Link's mouth quirked slightly upwards, then dropped again. He sighed sorrowfully.

"I was just like everyone else at first, too. I avoided her, thought she was a vicious, ruthless ice queen just like the rest." He shook his head and smiled wryly. "Then we were put in a team, and without even saying anything to each other, we worked together like clockwork. We made such a brilliant team, and we aced the tournament." He smiled slightly at the memory, and his smile was reflected on a face watching them from behind a bright green visor.

"After that, we always worked together in team matches. And we spoke outside of the matches...and we got on so well. We had so much in common. Since then, well, we've been inseparable. The only thing I wished for was that she would trust me enough to open up about her past. I used to think that she didn't trust me, that she didn't see me as a good enough friend to confide in, and it frustrated me. Now I realise that her past was just too horrible for her...it's little w-wonder she never s-spoke of it..." Link's voice began to waver as he spoke, and new tears began to track his face.

"Pit, I..." Samus wanted nothing more than to go over to him and make his guilt disappear, she wanted to ensure he never felt like this because of her again. But then, from the trees opposite her someone was whistling, and out strolled a man she never wanted to see again, unless he was under her gun barrel. Pit and Link looked toward the sudden noise, and Link jumped to his feet, his whole body tense, fists balled, eyes glaring at Captain Falcon.

"Aw, you cryin' coz ya know I'm gonna beat ya in the match, Linky?" Falcon jeered, grinning widely. Pit stood quickly and put his hand firmly onto Link's shoulder.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face around here after what you did to Samus, Falcon. Either that or you're just stupid." Link said, his eyes narrowed to slits. Captain Falcon shrugged lazily.

"Hey, I didn't know all that stuff was gonna be on the video, did I? It ain't my fault. 'Sides, it was Snake that actually _stole _the video. I just told him to. Serves the bitch right anyway, for makin' me look stupid." He grinned, but soon he was flying through the air and slamming into a tree. Before he had a chance to recover from the punch Link had dealt him, Link had grabbed him by the neck and held him against the tree.

"Don't you ever, _ever, _call her that ever again, Falcon. Not if you wanna live, you piece of scum." Link hissed. Captain Falcon jerked angrily in Link's grasp, but he couldn't get free. He couldn't speak, so he settled for glaring at Link. Pit threw himself at Link, dragging him back from Captain Falcon, who fell gasping and coughing to the ground. Link struggled against Pit, who clasped his sword across Link's chest and arms in an effort to restrain him.

"You'll pay for that one Linky. You and your _girlfriend_." Falcon spat at Link. Link lunged towards him again, but Pit strengthened his hold on him, and Falcon rushed off toward the battle area.

"Link! Wait until you're on the battlefield at least, please? Then you can beat him up all you like, alright?" Pit said, pulling Link backwards. Link struggled for a few more moments then suddenly sagged in Pit's grasp. Link nodded, and Pit sat him down.

"Come on. Let's get you to Norfair, eh?" Link wiped his eyes on his sleeve, and nodded again. They trudged towards the battle area. Samus watched them go, the heaviness that had weighed her down that morning had been lifted, by Link's fierce protection of her, his obvious regret, and the fact that he didn't think it was her fault that her parents are dead. She made her way to Norfair, smiling slightly under her helmet. Maybe today wasn't going to be as much of a hardship as she'd thought, if Link was still on her side.

Appearing on the top left platform in Norfair, Samus faced Snake across the lava, Captain Falcon on the platform beneath her, Link underneath Snake. As soon as the commentator yelled, "GO!", she fired two missiles in quick succession at Snake, who shielded and lobbed a grenade, which she easily dodged. Link jumped upwards and spun, slashing Snake in the legs and sent him towards Samus, who blasted him with a shot from her arm cannon. Then suddenly Falcon jumped up and grabbed her, throwing her towards Snake, who kicked her towards the edge. She easily jumped back up, and dropped a bomb onto Snake's head. Link threw a bomb of his own at Snake, and his boomerang at Falcon. They fought violently for a few minutes, each team determined to prove their worth. But this time, there was more at stake than just the winning or losing of the match. Captain Falcon fought to get his own back on Samus for rejecting his advances, he fought Link because as he saw it Link had stolen Samus from him, though she was never his in the first place. Snake fought to prove he was the best fighter, to beat Samus after the ass-kicking he'd received last time he fought her. Link fought to prove to Samus that he was sorry, to try and convince her to forgive him, and to show Falcon what happened when he messed with his friends. Samus was fighting to prove to everyone that her past changed nothing of who she was now, and she fought to give that lousy, good for nothing Falcon a piece of her mind. She chased him around the tiny stage, but in her power suit she was slower than him, and he outran her. Link, seeing what she was trying to do, threw a bomb at Falcon, while he distractedly watched Samus. The bomb shook him enough that Samus was able to grab him with her plasma whip. Glaring down at the man, Falcon couldn't bring himself to look at her. He struggled though, at least until her fist smashed down onto his face, repeatedly. Her anger, that she'd tried so hard to keep under control, bubbled to the surface, and she didn't hold back. All of a sudden she threw him behind her, and he was sent flying off screen. Suddenly a grenade came hurtling towards her; she could see it out the corner of her eye. She shielded, but there was no need. Link jumped up into the path of the grenade and shielded himself, repelling the grenade away from Samus. Suddenly, there was a small flash of light above them, and then, floating lazily around the stage, was a Smash Ball.

All four of them went after it immediately, Falcon had the advantage as he started out higher than the others. He smashed it, but it went too far from him, towards Link. Link hit it with a bomb, but then grabbed Snake who was coming after it, leaving the path clear for Samus to blast it. Unsure whether Link had let it go intentionally or not, Samus turned her now brightly glowing body to face the opposite team, and unleashed the Zero Laser, blasting them both way off screen. Then, her Power Suit crumbled around her and broke off, as she had known it would. Standing, she had just enough time to shield before she was smashed by a revived Falcon.

Glancing behind her, she saw a towering wall of lava bowling toward them all, and she ran to the other side of the stage, Falcon close at her heels. Once there, she whipped around and tried to grab Falcon, but he'd been waiting for it. Dodging, he grabbed her instead, and threw her towards the lava. Already at a high damage, she flew across the level, nearly KO'd. She managed to grab the edge just in time. As Snake prepped a grenade to throw at Link, and Samus got to her feet, the commentator began his booming countdown.

"5!" Samus dodged a Falcon Punch.

"4!" Link hit Snake with his boomerang.

"3!" Falcon jumped up and smash attacked Link.

"2!" Samus jumped over Snake and kicked him in the head.

"1!" Link slashed Falcon with his blade.

"Time!" Samus went flying towards the screen boundary after a smash attack from Snake, but it didn't count as a kill.

The four of them assembled, panting, in a large empty space, as the commentator revealed the results. Only now did they realise that pretty much every Smasher in the Mansion had been watching the match, those who hadn't been in a match themselves.

"The winner is..." Samus and Link, both in green, glared silently across at the red-garbed Falcon and Snake. They glared back, but looked smug. They were sure they'd beaten them.

"Green Team!" yelled the commentator, and cheers erupted from the Smashers. It wasn't a particularly important match, but they all wanted Link and Samus to win, for each other, and to kick Falcon's ass. Falcon and Snake stared at each other, shocked. They turned to Samus and Link, who were simply standing there, looking at each other. Glaring, Falcon and Snake stormed out. They didn't want to even think about this defeat. Link and Samus stood, facing each other, lost in each other's deep blue eyes. Samus wrenched herself free first, and turned away, walking out of the hall towards the outside. The Smashers watched her go, not daring to speak.

"Samus, wait!" Link shouted, running after her. But she was much faster and was out the door within seconds. He ran after her, and spotted a green figure striding towards the lake as he threw the doors open. He jogged after her, remembering the first time they'd spoken to each other, right by this very lake.

_Samus stood alone, watching the moonlight reflect in the lake through her visor. She suddenly longed to feel the wind on her face, and she pulled off her helmet. She sighed happily. Today had been good. First team match she'd had where everything worked perfectly, with the Hyrulian Link. Suddenly, she heard a sigh nearby, and turned sharply, to see Link himself standing there, watching the lake as well. She stared at him for a while, admiring the way the moonlight made his hair look almost white. Suddenly, he turned to her, and she jumped at the intensity of his gaze. He smiled after a moment, and she returned it without thinking._

"_Nice teamwork today, huh?" he said, and she nodded._

"_Um, there's, well, another team tournament tomorrow...just a couple of friendly matches...you wanna pair up? O-only if you want to, I mean, you don't have to or anything..." he stammered. She grinned, for some reason this idea appealed to her greatly. _

"_Um, sure. That'd be great!" She was, despite herself, nervous at the thought, but went to bed that night with butterflies in her stomach, nervously anticipating the following day. _

_She and Link had, once again, wiped the floor with the opposition. And again, and again. And they spoke outside of matches, becoming close friends. That had started it all, that meeting at the lake. He had watched her blonde hair glitter in the moonlight, watched her blue eyes dance across the surface of the lake and her face..._

"Samus, wait!" She had stopped at the lakeside, and her hair whipped in front of her face in the light breeze. She turned to face him with stormy eyes.

"What is it, Link?" She said coldly, betraying no emotion. He swallowed hard, broken at the thought of losing her trust as he had.

"I...I'm just...God, I'm just so sorry, Samus! But...but I guess you don't want to hear it, do you? I know I stuffed up...well, more than stuffed up, I blew it completely. I shouldn't have listened to Falcon, he's an asshole. I...I know you most likely won't ever forgive me. I didn't know how much you'd suffered...if I could do anything to go back and change what happened to you, I would, I'd give anything, it must have been so terrible and we...I...sat and watched it like it was entertainment, and I hate myself for doing that, and I hate Ridley and the Space Pirates for causing it all, and I hate Captain Falcon for doing this." Link rushed out, desperate to try and get through to Samus who stared at him blankly. His voice trailed off and he hung his head. Whispering, "I'm so sorry," one last time, he turned to walk away slowly. Samus saw him turn to leave, but not before she saw the glisten of tears on his cheek, or feel the traitorous slipping of her own down her face. Knowing full well that if Link left her now, she might never be able to bring herself to speak to him again, and she might never feel as whole as she did around him. She ran after him and grabbed his arm, spinning him round to face her. Surprise flitted through his eyes, and just a little hope. He saw that the anger had left her eyes, and they once again shone with the light he had come to love.

Samus threw her arms around Link's neck, and his arms slid instinctively around her back, burying his face in her hair. He suddenly realised she was shaking with sobs, and the sound struck at his heart. He stroked her hair tentatively, whispering soothing sounds in her ear. After a while, her shaking subsided, and she looked up at him, tear tracks staining her face. She smiled a little as his face mirrored her own; tears, of regret, but of joy as well. Their eyes locked, and they stared into each other's souls, and knew in that instant that they would never let the other go.

"I love you, Samus." Whispered Link. She stared in awe, couldn't believe her ears.

"You...love me?"

"Yes, of course I do. I...I think I always have, just didn't realise it."

"I...I love you too, Link."

And as their lips met, a little tentatively at first, two white gloved hands, one crazy, one not so much, looked out over the lake from the top of the mansion, smiling as much as a hand can at the beauty of that perfect moment.


End file.
